Cold-cathode field emission devices (FEDs) are known in the art. These prior art devices typically feature electric field induced electron emission from regions exhibiting geometric discontinuities of small radius of curvature. In some prior art embodiments the FEDs may be constructed in a substantially vertical orientation wherein emitted electrons are collected by an anode that is non-coplanar with respect to the electron emitter. In other prior art embodiments the anode may be formed on the same supporting structure on which the emitter resides. Further, FEDs employed in signal processing applications generally include a gate electrode for modulating the rate of electron emission. As described the FEDs of the prior art may be employed for a broad variety of electronic applications as part of communication and/or computing systems.
An inherent characteristic of many electronic systems, such as communication or computing systems, in which active devices, such as semiconductor devices or FEDs, are employed is that as system complexity increases, the number of active device stages must also increase. This increase supports a proportional increase in system cost and has an adverse effect on system reliability. Since the trend in the electronics industry is towards systems of increasing complexity, this inherent characteristic presents a serious detriment to reliable system performance and cost effectiveness.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a new device that overcomes at least some of these disadvantages of prior art devices.